Can opener



Aug. 31, 1937. D. ROBERTS CAN OPENER Filed DEC. 4, 1936 Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNETEE STATES FATENT QFFEQE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to can openers, its object being to provide a device of this character which is of the pincers type and has a means whereby the topof a can can be cut out completely 5 by means of a blade to which the can is fed by a wheel which serves to engage and support the annular bead on the can.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is cheap to manufacture, easy 10 to manipulate, and will not readily get out of order.

A further object is to provide a can opener which will hold the can in proper position relative to the cutting blade at all times during the cutting 15 operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of the can opener.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the opposite side 30 thereof, the same being shown in operative position on a can a portion of which is shown by broken lines, one of the positions of the can opener, while released from the can, being indicated by broken lines.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

Figure i is a section on line 44, Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a section on line 55, Figure 2.

Referring to the figures by characters. of refer- 40 ence l designates the main member of the device which is in the form of a rigid flat strip of metal in one end of which is journalled a short stud 2 having a finger piece 3 thereon at one side of the member I while attached to the stud and fitted against the other side of member I is a feeding wheel 4 having a toothed periphery.

A notch 5 is formed in the top edge of the member l and has an inclined wall 5 constituting a stop shoulder. A guide ear I is struck laterally from the member I at its upper edge between wheel 4 and notch 5 and this ear constitutes means for receiving lateral thrust from a can C while being opened so as to assist in holding the can in proper position relative to the cutter during the actuation 55 of the device. A handle 8 extends from that end.

of the member l remote from wheel 4 and can be joined thereto by spot welding or in any other manner desired.

Secured within and extending from the member I are separate bearing studs 8 and 9' each having a head as shown. On the stud 8 is pivotally mounted a cutting member in the form of a plate 9 the top edge portion of which is bent laterally to overlie the corresponding edge of the member I and to form a stop ear Hi and a downturned cutting blade II. This cutting blade is adapted to lap the upper portion of the wheel 4 when the parts are in active position and it is substantially triangular, there being a perforating point l2 at the bottom of the blade while a shearing edge I 3 is inclined upwardly and backwardly from this point as shown. The blade is adapted to partly lap the guide ear 1 and is slightly curved transversely as shown particularly in Figure 3 so as to conform substantially to the curvature of the can being operated on. The stop ear I is adapted to swing downwardly into the notch and, by coming against the shoulder 6, will limit the swinging movement of the cutting member 9 in one direction.

This member 9 is provided at one end with gear teeth M which mesh with corresponding teeth l5 on an actuating plate It which is pivotally mounted on the stud 9. This actuating plate has a handle ll joined thereto by spot welding or in any other manner desired and which is disposed vopposite to the handle 8. A hook l8 for use in removing bottle caps can be extended from the plate l6 as shown.

In practice the can to be opened is placed with its annular bead resting on the toothed periphery of the wheel 4, it being understood that at this time the handle I1 is raised as shown by broken lines in Figure 2 as thus to swing the blade ll upwardly away from the wheel 4.

After the tool and can have been properly arranged relative to each other the handles I1 and 8 are drawn together. This will cause motion to be transmitted from the teeth IE to the teeth l4 with the result that the blade I I will be swung downwardly toward wheel 4 and its point [2 will penetrate the top of the can close to its side. Wheel 4 is then rotated in a clockwise direction with one hand while the other hand is used for pressing the two handles toward each other. The toothed margin of the wheel will bite into the under surface of the bead on the can and cause the can to travel along ear 1 and past blade II at which time the shearing edge 3 will cut through the metal in the can top. The tendency of the can will be to press laterally during this operation and ear 1 will receive the thrust and prevent the can from moving out of proper position. It is to be understood, of course, that that por- 5 tion of the member 9 which overlies the member I constitutes a runner which bears downwardly on the bead of the can as shown particularly in Figure 5. Thus the bead is held at all times in engagement with the periphery of the Wheel and 10 as the wheel is rotated the can must, ,of necessity, rotate until the end is partly or entirely severed. Thereafter the handles are moved apart. This will cause the member 9 and its cutting blade I l to swing upwardly as indicated by broken lines in Figure 3, thereby releasing the can.

It will be noted that all parts of this tool can be shaped with dies and can be quickly assembled so that it is thus possible to produce the tool at low cost.

The gear arrangement indicated at 4 and I5 affords considerable leverage so that but little power is required to force the blade ll through the metal of the can at the start of the opening operation.

What is claimed is:

1. A can opener including pivotally connected members, handles thereon, gear teeth on one of the members, a feeding wheel rotatably supported by the other member, and a cutting member piv- 3O otally mounted on one of the first named members and actuated by the teeth on the other member, said cutting member including .a perforating and shearing blade normally lapping but spaced I from the wheel.

2. A can opener including ,a main member and a toothed member pivotally connected, handles extending therefrom, a feeding wheel rotatably mounted on the main member, a cutting member pivotally mounted on the main member and 40 toothed for engagement by the toothed member,

a perforating and shearing blade carried by the cutting member and normally lapping but spaced from the wheel, and cooperating means onthe cutting member and main member for limiting the relative movements of said members in one direction.

3. A can opener including a main member and a toothed member pivotally connected, handles extending therefrom, a feeding wheel rotatably mounted on the main member, a cutting member 4. A can opener including pivotally connected main and toothed members, handles extended therefrom, a toothed feeding Wheel mounted for rotation on the main member for engagement with the under surface of a bead on a can, a cut- 5 ting member pivotally mounted on the main member and having teeth for engagement by the teeth of the toothed member, said cutting member overlying the main member to provide a runner for sliding engagement with the top surface 10 of a can head, a blade depending from said overlying portion for perforating and shearing the end of the can while the bead of said can is positioned between the wheel and runner portion, and means on the main member for receiving latl5 eralthrust'from the bead of the engaged can during the cutting operation.

5. A can opener including pivotally connected main and toothed members, handles extended therefrom, a toothed feeding Wheel mounted for 20 rotation on the main member for engagement With the under surface of a bead on a can, a cutting member pivotally mounted on the main member and having teeth for engagement by the teeth of the toothed member, said cutting member overlying the main member to provide a runner for sliding engagement with the top surface of a can bead, a blade depending from said over- Ilying portion for perforating and shearing the during the cutting operation, said cutting blade being bored to conform substantially to the curvature of the can being cut. 6. A can opener including pivotally connected main and toothed members, handles extended therefrom, a toothed feeding wheel mounted for rotation on the main member for engagement-i240 with the under surface of a bead on a can, a cutting member pivotally mounted on the main member and having teeth for engagement by the teeth of the toothed member, said cutting member overlying the main member to provide a runii 45 nor for sliding engagement with thetop'surface of a can bead, a blade depending from said overlying portion for perforating and shearing the end of the can while the bead of said can is positioned between the wheel and runner portionf 50 and means on the main member for receiving lateral thrust from the bead of the engaged can during the cutting operation, said cutting blade being bored to conform substantially to the curvature of the can being cut, and means extending laterally from the cutting member for bearing on the top surface of the can bead during the-cutting operation and for engaging the main member to limit the relative movement of the pivoted members when released from the can.

LEWIS D. ROBERTS. 

